Articles

Lysine-specific histone demethylase 5C (KDM5C) belongs to the jumonji family of demethylases and is specific for the di- and tri-demethylation of lysine 4 residues on histone 3 (H3K4 me2/3). KDM5C is expressed...

The centromere is a specialized chromosomal locus that forms the basis for the assembly of a multi-protein complex, the kinetochore and ensures faithful chromosome segregation during every cell division. The r...

The Chromomethylase 1 (CMT1) has long been considered a nonessential gene because, in certain Arabidopsis ecotypes, the CMT1 gene is disrupted by the Evelknievel (EK) retroelement, inserted within exon 13, or con...

Epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is tightly regulated by a network of transcription factors (EMT-TFs). Among them is the nuclear factor ZEB2, a member of the zinc-finger E-box binding homeobox family. Z...

Bidirectional promoters (BPs) are prevalent in eukaryotic genomes. However, it is poorly understood how the cell integrates different epigenomic information, such as transcription factor (TF) binding and chrom...

In most mammalian cell lines, chromatin located at the nuclear periphery is represented by condensed heterochromatin, as evidenced by microscopy observations and DamID mapping of lamina-associated domains (LAD...

Meiotic recombination hotspots control the frequency and distribution of Spo11 (Rec12)-initiated recombination in the genome. Recombination occurs within and is regulated in part by chromatin structure, but re...

Placental inflammation, often presenting as acute chorioamnionitis (aCA), is commonly associated with preterm birth. Preterm birth can have both immediate and long-term adverse effects on the health of the bab...

In animals with XY sex chromosomes, X-linked genes from a single X chromosome in males are imbalanced relative to autosomal genes. To minimize the impact of genic imbalance in male Drosophila, there is a dosage c...

Preservation of genome integrity by complete, error-free DNA duplication prior to cell division and by correct DNA damage repair is paramount for the development and maintenance of an organism. This holds true...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative stress is well known to play a major role in male infertility. Sperm are sensitive to ROS damaging effects because as male germ cells form mature sperm they prog...

The mechanism by which protein complexes interact to regulate the deposition of post-translational modifications of histones remains poorly understood. This is particularly important at regulatory regions, suc...

Since the discovery of methylcytosine oxidase ten-eleven translocation (TET) proteins, we have witnessed an exponential increase in studies examining their roles in epigenetic regulation. TET family proteins c...

The parthenogenetic marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) is a novel species that has rapidly invaded and colonized various different habitats. Adaptation to different environments appears to be independent o...

Genomic imprinting leads to maternal expression of IGF2R in both mouse and opossum. In mouse, the antisense long noncoding (lnc) RNA Airn, which is paternally expressed from the differentially methylated region (...

Contact domains of chromatin serve as a fundamental unit to regulate action of enhancers for target genes. Looping between a pair of CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF)-binding sites in convergent orientations underli...

There are multiple copies of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) present in each cell type, and they are strictly regulated in a cell-specific manner by a group of nuclear-encoded mtDNA-specific replication factors. Thi...

The long noncoding RNA Xist is critical for initiation and establishment of X-chromosome inactivation during embryogenesis in mammals, but it is unclear whether its continued expression is required for maintai...

Our appreciation of the critical role of the genome’s 3D organization in gene regulation is steadily increasing. Recent 3C-based deep sequencing techniques elucidated a hierarchy of structures that underlie th...

The silkworm, Bombyx mori, a typical representative of metamorphic insects, is of great agricultural and economic importance. The steroid hormone ecdysone (20-hydroxyecdysone, 20E) is the central regulator of ins...

JARID2 is a non-catalytic member of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), which is known to regulate developmental target genes in embryonic stem cells. Here, we provide mechanistic insight into the modula...

The product of dosage compensation in female mammals is the inactive X chromosome (Xi). Xi facultative heterochromatin is organized into two different types, one of which is defined by histone H3 trimethylated...

Recent technological advances have delivered the genome-wide targets of many important transcription factors (TFs). However, increasing evidence suggests that not all target sites mediate regulatory function, ...

Telomeric small RNAs related to PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) have been described in various eukaryotes; however, their role in germline-specific telomere function remains poorly understood. Using a Drosophila m...

The ability to accurately and efficiently measure DNA methylation is critical to advance the understanding of this epigenetic mechanism and its contribution to common diseases. Here, we present a highly accura...

Unfortunately, the original version of this article contained a typographical error in one of the author names. The name of the author Alexey Pindyurin was incorrectly spelt as Alexey Pinduyrin. The correct sp...

DNA methylation is one of the main epigenetic mechanisms for the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes. In the standard model, methylation in gene promoters has received the most attention since it is ge...

Genomic imprinting is governed by allele-specific DNA methylation at imprinting control regions (ICRs), and the mechanism controlling its differential methylation establishment during gametogenesis has been a ...

The concept of pioneer transcription factors is emerging as an essential part of the epigenetic regulation, taking place during cell development and differentiation. However, the precise molecular mechanism un...

The lysine-specific histone demethylase 1A (KDM1A) was the first demethylase to challenge the concept of the irreversible nature of methylation marks. KDM1A, containing a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-depe...

Accurate regulation of tissue- and stage-specific expression of genes is prerequisite for normal development in organisms. DNA methylation plays an important role in modulating gene expression in mammals and p...

The reported antitumor activity of the BET family bromodomain inhibitors has prompted the development of inhibitors against other bromodomains. However, the human genome encodes more than 60 different bromodom...

Zrsr1 is a paternally expressed imprinted gene located in the first intron of Commd1, and the Zrsr1 promoter resides in a differentially methylated region (DMR) that is maternally methylated in the oocyte. Howeve...

Tracking dynamic protein–chromatin interactions in vivo is key to unravel transcriptional and epigenetic transitions in development and disease. However, limited availability and heterogeneous tissue compositi...

The well-established association of chronological age with changes in DNA methylation is primarily founded on the analysis of large sets of blood samples, while conclusions regarding tissue-specificity are typ...

MMP-9 plays a direct role in the activation of pro-osteoclastogenic genes by cleaving histone H3N-terminal tail (H3NT) and altering chromatin architecture. Although H3 acetylation at K18 has been shown to stim...

Enhancers and promoters are cis-acting regulatory elements associated with lineage-specific gene expression. Previous studies showed that different categories of active regulatory elements are in regions of op...